Question

If rats are allowed to wander through a complicated maze, they will subsequently run the maze with few errors when a food reward is placed at the end. Their good performance demonstrates?

1) shaping
2) latent learning
3) delayed reinforcement
4) spontaneous recovery
5) modeling

Answer 1

Rats demonstrating good performance in a maze with a food reward after unprompted exploration exemplify latent learning, where they develop a cognitive map without initial reinforcement.

Step-by-step explanation:

The good performance of rats in a maze with a food reward at the end, after being allowed to wander through it without reinforcement, demonstrates latent learning. Latent learning is a form of cognitive learning, which is not immediately observable in behavior until there is a reason to demonstrate it. In studies conducted by H.C. Blodgett and later by E.C. Tolman, it was found that rats develop a cognitive map of the maze even without receiving a reward initially. Once the food reward was introduced, the rats were able to navigate the maze with few errors, indicating that they had learned the layout of the maze during their unrewarded exploration.